Getting Out There
by KinzingtonBear
Summary: Li is a simple girl in the mountains. She has little need or want for anything. She rarely even speaks. But when she is coerced into attempting the Hunter Exam, she isn't sure what to expect, especially after meeting the strange boys in the test. The strange friendship starts between the three but she finds that she has a problem. She came to the test dressed as a boy. Killua X OC


Sunlight streamed through the holes in the curtains, warming the small room,landing right on my face, as if it was purposely trying to blind me. Opening my eyes, I immediately shut them.

"Who controls the freaking brightness on that god forsaken ball of fire?" I asked no one in particular. I can feel my cheeks warming under the rays of light, and am beginning to feel uncomfortable in the heat. A sigh escapes my lips as I slowly come to terms with the fact that it is time to get up. Pulling my body out from the thin blanket spread across me, I feel a few pops in my back, making me grunt in response.

The room around me was lit by the light escaping from the tattered curtains, the dust in the air visible as it floated throughout the room. As my eyes took in the sight, I was brought back to m reality.

The room around me was dingy and tattered, matching the used up curtains perfectly. It was a small room that only had a chair and the cot I was currently sitting in. I sighed for what felt like the thousandth time and stood up. I lifted my arms and stretched big and long.

Feeling a lot more awake, I trudge over to the bathroom, the only connecting room in the small cottage. The bathroom was fairly simple, only holding the necessities. It was also just as ancient looking as the rest of the shack-like house, but it worked well enough.

I looked up in the mirror to see what the damage my restless sleep had caused and was not surprised. My black hair had gone from a stage between curly and wavy to a frizzy mess that came off my head like a black haze. Despite it being all the way down my back, it always managed a way to stick up in some strange direction as if giving gravity and me the middle finger. After I pull my eyes from my hair, I stare at my reflection.

I've never felt remarkable. I have an average nose, average lips, average everything. The only interesting things about me were my eyes. Both of them were green, but both very different shades of it. My right eye was a deep green, the kind of green you would find in the thick and dense forest, while my other eye was a pale and almost pastel colored green. I remember on one of my few trips to the town nearby, a woman had stopped me and exclaimed to me about my eyes for a solid five minutes.

" _My goodness! You have the most beautiful eyes! They are so big and vibrant!"_

I sighed yet again thinking about her. She had yapped on and on in her thick accent about my eyes and didn't let me escape her constant gushing until I agreed to let her take a picture. I may not consider myself a local in town, but tourists still pissed me off just a little sometimes. Maybe it's due to my hermit like lifestyle, but I often find it hard to deal with people 90 percent of the time.

Pulling my eyes away from my reflection, I go through my normal morning routine, including me wrangling my hair into a braid that formed from two different origin braids. I popped out of the bathroom and threw on a tank top and a pair of random shorts. I had the full hearted intention of staying in the mountains and forests today, so what I looked like doesn't matter, especially since I didn't let people see me in the first place.

After clothing myself completely and throwing on my one and only pair of shoes, I grabbed my leather backpack and headed out the front door.

The summer day was already beginning to warm, and everything in the world was lit up into it's natural glory. After taking deep inhales of the fresh air, I began the daily hike through the forest and up the mountain to the only friends that I have, an probably will ever have.

 **X**

I yawned as I approached the cabin nestled deep in the wood. When I was a young child, the hike from my house left me winded and exhausted, even after the multiple breaks I took along the way. Now, it felt like nothing but a casual stroll through a familiar length of land.

The building was a simple but sturdy cabin, slightly worn with time, but obviously cared for. I stroll up to the house and lift my hand to knock on the door. Before I have the chance to connect my knuckle to the wood, a blur of yellow races toward me as a frighteningly fast speed. I drop my back to the ground, bending at the knees, swiftly avoiding the blur as it passes over where my torso used to be. I sigh and slowly get up off the ground.

"Come on! I was just greeting you!" A pitched voice said, causing me to turn my head. The tall and brightly colored creature stood to my left, it's thin eyes giving me an annoyed stare.

"I'm sick of you tackling me to the ground you rude Kiriko, I'm not some animal you're hunting" I say, brushing off any dirt that may have clung to my body after my death drop. The monsterish creature simply huffed at me.

After I finish inspecting myself, I let myself into the house, not bothering to knock at this point. The inside of it had not much in it, as the family of Kiriko spent more time outside than not. I didn't have a particular reason to be here other than to interact with something other than the non speaking animals on the mountain. I knew that the town by the port was closer, but I liked to avoid going down there at all costs. The town was all about tourism and that means lots of merchants, and they pester like no other. I didn't have a problem with merchants trying to sell things, but so many in one place made them desperate, and I could only handle so much pushing before my fuse went off.

"Since you mentioned hunting, and I'm sure you haven't eaten, are you up for one?" The Kiriko said from out the door.

I thought for a second, and as if waiting for the thought to cross my mind, I felt my stomach clench up with tightness.

' _When was the last time I ate'_ I thought to myself.

Nodding my head, I reached into my bag and pull out the item that I love more than I think I will ever love anything in my my hand remained a shiny cylinder of a silver metal. The coolness of it felt nice in my hand, and I smiled. With a quick flip of the wrist, the cylinder snapped into a 6 foot tall pole with a sharp spearhead at the top. It seemed to gleam with mischievous energy that I found absolutely charming, and it made me feel like I was a whole person again. This equipment had been with me since the ripe age of 6 years old, a gift from my father. He had drilled into my head that if I took good care of this weapon, it would take care of me.

I pulled my arms a bit stretching them out and turning to the Kiriko.

"Alright, let's get some breakfast"

 **X**

I took in a deep breath and gazed out at the scenery across the mountain, my stomach full and content. The Kiriko next to me groomed his fur a bit, seeming just as content as I was. We sat in a comfortable silence before it's pitched voice spoke up.

"I have something to tell you that you may reject at first, but I want you to hear me out."

I gave it a look, and it shot one back at me as if telling me to just shut it for a second. After I dropped the attitude from my eyes, it spoke.

"In these coming few days, me and my family will be navigators to the Hunter exam."

It looked at me, as if expecting a response. I simply stared back, waiting for whatever it was that was supposed to make this 'interesting'.

"Going by that, I know you have no idea what that is. Have you ever heard of professional hunters? Not the animal hunting kind, but full fledged professional hunters."

I have him a dead eyed gaze. It grumbled.

"Well, they are very skilled people that have the license to travel wherever their hearts could dream of. They also make up some of the richest people in the world, as they have the skill sets to do the jobs that no one else is capable of doing. They have so much influence that they have more leeway with most laws, including murder!"

"What is your point here?" I say, starting to feel annoyed since he still had not explained why he was doing this.

"Well, I've seen you grow on this mountain into quite the fine young lady. You're fast enough to keep p with me, you have quite exceptional strength, and you have the intelligence that most people can only dream of."

"...and?"

"As one of the navigators to the hunter exam, I have already deemed you worth to take on the challenge of getting your Hunter's License!"

Even though I cannot feel my face change, I can feel so many questions and thoughts bouncing around my head.

"Okay, first off, why would I want to get a license? I'm perfectly content here on this mountain."

"Oh dear, even as a different species, I can see the loneliness ebbing away at you. Even if you try to act like everything is fine, you are still a 14 year old girl. You need people, and especially people who are like you. And judging by the people that attend the exam, I think you may find exactly that."

I stared in slight awe at the Kiriko. Never before had it been so honest to me about this sort of thing. Hell, it had never even make a comment about her hermit lifestyle. Sure she didn't talk to anyone but the resident Kirikos, but she didn't necessarily feel lonely. But even as she thought that to herself, the thought of going back to her little cottage alone for another night of silence made her heart twinge.

"You don't have to make the decision now, but me and the rest will be heading to the location of the exam tonight. Show up after sunset and I'll take that as a yes."

And with that, the Kiriko stood up and leaped away, leaving me in the silence. My head seemed to spin. I couldn't even remember the last time I spoke to a human being. I couldn't even remember the last time I had gone to town. I walked back to the place I loosely called my home and simply stopped and stared at it.

After standing there for longer than I should have, I felt something bubbling up in my chest. A feeling that had been gone since a long, long time ago. With the feeling powering me, I walked into the house and found myself staring the mirror. After a solid minute, I pulled one of my braids a bit.

' _If I'm going to do this, I need to at least begin cautious"_

I dig through the cabinet to find what I need. I take hair pins i had stored away and pinned the two tails of my braid to my head, tightly and securely. I then pulled out a wig. It was a sandy blond color that curled much like my own did. I then place it upon my head and set to pinning it correctly. If I was going to go into any potentially dangerous situation, I needed to feel like I had some control over my situation.

I looked at my handiwork in the mirror. The wigs curls complimented my small face, and the color made me seem like I had more coloring in my skin, until how my natural hair made me look so pale that I was sickly. I used to put this on to go to town, just in case some creep or trafficker was searching for young girls. Port towns seemed to breed corruption.

I paced around my room after that, my hand tight around the straps of my bag, clenching it tight. The pros and cons of the situation raced through my mind, some logical, while others were sporadic. I was so wrapped in my thoughts that I accidentally walked into my wall, pulling me back to reality.

My head quickly snapped to the window, where I could see the ends of the sunset in the distant mountains.

"Oh, to hell with it" I said to myself, grabbing my bag. I opened it and put my few things inside: my beautiful staff, a few lollipops I had been saving from the port, an envelope filled with a few photos and letter, and a couple hair ties. God knows I'll need those.

I briskly walk out of my house, but stop just outside it.

This feeling, I can place it now.

The feeling I hadn't felt.

Excitement.


End file.
